As a dietetics student, Alison Roberts was determined to give her two-year-old son a healthy diet. While she was learning about nutrition and health, her son attended a day nursery on the university campus where she was studying. Then Angel Delight appeared on the menu. While the powdered dessert may be fondly remembered by many children of the 1970s and 1980s, Roberts was not impressed.

"It's full of additives," she says. "I didn't give my son anything with additives at home - I didn't want him having them at nursery."

But when she approached the nursery manager, he was reluctant to stop serving Angel Delight, claiming the children found it comforting. "It was complete madness," says Roberts. "He also claimed it wasn't fair to serve healthy food all the time because some children weren't used to that kind of food at home."

Off the menu

With the nursery refusing to budge, she gathered support from fellow parents. A meeting was called, and parents voiced their concerns. After two months, Angel Delight was taken off the menu.

Two years on, Roberts laughs about her Angel Delight campaign, but says it does raise a serious point about nutritional standards in nurseries. "I think most nurseries try to provide healthy, nutritious food these days. The problem is, one person's idea of a healthy diet can be 'unhealthy' for another."

Judy More, a paediatric dietician and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, agrees. In a recent article for the Journal of Family Care - for professionals working with babies and young children - she argued that day nurseries and childminders often lack the expertise to provide healthy, balanced diets. "Generally, I'd say carers are trying to get it right, but lack of support and guidance means some are still getting it wrong."

"Getting it wrong" does not necessarily mean filling children with junk food. A study carried out by East Sussex county council trading standards team in 10 nurseries last year found that many were "confused and misinformed" about healthy eating for under-fives. In fact, many nurseries were providing diets that were too low in calories, fat and saturated fat and too high in fruit and vegetables.

More wasn't surprised. She cites one example of a multicultural nursery that decided it would be easier to cater for the children's varying dietary needs by providing an all-vegetarian menu. But there were no iron-rich foods such as pulses or nuts to replace the excluded meat and fish. So the menu was too low in iron to meet the needs of preschool children.

With toddlers and pre-school children in the UK spending more and more time in nurseries and other childcare facilities, the issue has never been so important. With all three- and four-year-olds now entitled to 12.5 hours of free early years education (from 2010 this will rise to 15 hours), many children regularly have at least one meal in day care each day.

And figures from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) show the number of full day care providers has been rising steadily since 2001, meaning more and more children are having breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks away from home.

For parents, who may feel they have little control over what their child eats while in day care, it can be a worry. "I'm not too happy that my daughter's nursery insists on only giving fruit for snacks," says Julie Thornton. "I give her plenty of fruit at home with her meals, but I think toddlers need to snack on something more substantial. I see nothing wrong with the odd biscuit or piece of cake, but that is just not allowed in her nursery."

Pudding is important

More agrees, saying: "There is nothing wrong with biscuits or cake as long as they are made from good ingredients. People are often surprised when I advise children should have a pudding after lunch and dinner, but young children need to keep up their calorie intake. Some sugary foods are OK in the context of a healthy, balanced diet."

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), the representative body for day nurseries in the UK, says an added pressure for nurseries is that parents can be misinformed about what constitutes a healthy diet for children. "Parents are increasingly interested in what their children are being given at nursery. However, in some cases, nurseries may be serving food that is too healthy for the under-fives. Young children should not be served low-fat versions of foods or skimmed milk, and nurseries do sometimes face barriers when explaining this to parents."

There is no shortage of good work going on around healthy eating in early-years settings. Healthy eating is one of the topics in the National Childminding Association's diploma in home-based childcare. The NDNA also has worked with registered dieticians to develop publications and training programmes on healthy eating. The Pre-School Learning Alliance, a charity specialising in early-years education, has developed a nutritional guidance and healthy eating programme along with the British Nutrition Foundation.

But what is desperately needed, says More, is a more "joined-up" approach, and a set of national nutritional standards for preschool children, such as those set out by the government for primary and secondary aged children. The new Early Years Framework, which sets out the standards for the Early Years Foundation Stage - birth to five years - states that any meals, snacks or drinks should be balanced, healthy and nutritious, and fresh water must be available at all times. The DCSF provides guidance materials on nursery food, but with growing numbers of children in day care, More doesn't believe this goes far enough.

"Good nutrition is vital for preschool children's growth and development, as nutritional problems such as iron-deficiency anaemia, constipation and dental caries are common in this age group. Good eating habits, set down at an early age, can have a significant impact on long-term health." Instead of low-fat, low-sugar meals and snacks, day-care centres should provide a healthy, balanced diet that contains all the right nutrients to help children to grow and develop.

And Angel Delight? According to More, it is not the devil's food. "Angel Delight is a milk product that can be used as one of the three servings of dairy products recommended for children each day. My children had it every week!"